Junior Amone

Tonga international rugby league footballer

Talatau Amone
Personal information
Full nameTalatau Junior Amone
Born (2002-04-10) 10 April 2002 (age 22)
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
Playing information
PositionFive-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2021–23 St. George Illawarra 54 10 0 0 40
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2022 Tonga 3 1 0 0 4
Source: [1]
As of 2 September 2023

Talatau Junior Amone (born 10 April 2002) is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who last played as a five-eighth for the St. George Illawarra Dragons in the National Rugby League (NRL).

Background

Amone played his junior rugby league for the Western Suburbs Red Devils.[2] He is of Tongan descent.[3]

Playing career

2021

Amone made his debut in round 9 of the 2021 NRL season for St. George Illawarra against Canterbury-Bankstown, scoring a try on debut in a 32-12 victory.[4] Amone made eleven appearances for the club throughout the season as the club finished 11th and missed out on the finals.[5]

2022

In round 22 of the 2022 NRL season, Amone scored a hat-trick in St. George's 24-22 loss against the Canberra Raiders.[6] On Thursday 11 August 2022, Amone signed a Contract Extension with the Saints until the end of the 2024 NRL season.[7] In round 23, Amone scored two tries in a 46-26 victory over the Gold Coast Titans.[8]

2023

Amone played his first game of the season on 1 April after being stood down by the NRL, St. George Illawarra beat the Dolphins 38-12.[9] Amone played 19 games for the club in the 2023 NRL season where they finished 16th on the table.[10]

Statistics

Season Team Pld T G FG P
2021 St. George Illawarra Dragons 11 3 0 0 12
2022 24 6 0 0 24
2023* 18 1
Totals 53 10 0 0 40

*denotes season still competing[11]

Criminal conviction

In December 2022, Amone was charged with reckless grievous bodily harm in company, destroying property and intimidation following an alleged attack on a roofing contractor at Warrawong on 15 November 2022.[12] He was initially stood down from playing under the NRL no-fault stand-down policy, but he was allowed to play after his case was moved from the district court to Wollongong Local Court, where he would face a maximum sentence of five years if found guilty on all charges. That maximum sentence is below the threshold of the no-fault stand-down policy.[13] On 18 October 2023 Amone was found guilty of all charges.[14] On 19 December 2023, Amone was served with a breach notice by the NRL preventing him from being contracted in the league for 12 months, after being sentenced to two years imprisonment by way of an intensive corrections order and 300 hours of community service.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Talatau Amone - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  2. ^ Proszenko, Adrian (21 August 2021). "'It's a lot of money when you are 14': Amone's first payday a glimpse of what is to come". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  3. ^ Pryde, Scott (27 December 2021). ""In a position to win": Tonga out to cause major World Cup boilover". Zero Tackle. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Round 9 team lists". National Rugby League. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 4 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  5. ^ Brunsdon, Simon (28 August 2021). "Luckless Cowboy ends 14-game losing streak; Dragons find their new No.6: 3 Big Hits". Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 6 October 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Canberra Raiders edge St George Illawarra 24-22 to keep NRL finals hopes alive, Gold Coast beat Manly 44-24". www.abc.net.au.
  7. ^ "Dragons extend Amone until the end of 2024". dragons.com.au.
  8. ^ "Canberra Raiders beat Newcastle Knights to keep alive NRL finals hopes, Dragons thump Titans". www.abc.net.au.
  9. ^ Nicolussi, Christian (1 April 2023). "Hunt fires up Dragons to hand Dolphins a reality check". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Hunt call that could define Flanagan era; glaring hole that must be filled: Brutal Review". www.foxsports.com.au.
  11. ^ https://www.nrl.com/players/nrl-premiership/dragons/talatau-amone/
  12. ^ Walsh, Dan (22 December 2022). "Dragons' Talatau Amone charged over alleged hammer attack". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  13. ^ Proszenko, Adrian (7 March 2023). "'So grateful': Dragons star Amone opens up on shock path back to NRL". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  14. ^ Proszenko, Adrian; McPhee, Sarah (18 October 2023). "Dragons playmaker Amone found guilty of hammer attack". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Dragons star's $500k deal set to torn up as NRL deregistration looms after hammer attack". www.foxsports.com.au.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Junior Amone.
  • St George Illawarra Dragons profile
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St. George Illawarra Dragons – current squad
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Tonga squad – 2021 Rugby League World Cup